Winding down 794

Winding down with this trip to Thailand and my blog.  I had an experience today.  I am still in a semi-fog.   I got up this morning and knew I had acupuncture, probably should eat and shower.   I have not shaved my legs in a long time since at this age I have intermittent hair and so light ok grey,  you really can’t see it and who cares.  But since I was going to have the long massage day, I thought I have a razor for my chin whiskers so why not take a few swipes and the leg foliage. That is about what I took, a few swipes and knicked a blood vessel and thought I might need a tourniquet or a transfusion.  Very dark blood came streaming out of one of the surface veins and did not appear in any interest of stopping.   I actually went to bed and put my leg on the chair while holding the moist wipe securely on the gusher.  Tick tick…time to leave with my laundry and acupuncture etc..    Amazingly it stopped after the red blood game to replace the purple blood that started the trickle.   When I was sure it was over, I want into the bathroom which looked like a carnage had happened or a pig was slaughtered.  Amazing to have a floor you can hose and as it happened fingerprints off the wall.  I did spend the next few hours looking at my leg to see if I have purple or red socks.   All was well.  

So following acupuncture and breakfast,  I put myself in the hands of a very petite Thai woman for five hours. (at the left is the front door.... CAVE)

 I have had a massage in the US, Turkey, Vietnam, Cambodia, and about 40- 100  places over 12 yrs in Thailand.  I have had the foot massage, facial, full body, etc. from girly boys, men, women and two people at once.  This was an experience.

I arrived at 11 and paid my $140 for the five hours.   Phun came to the lobby and washed my feet, took me to my “cave”. Actually, that is what it was, stone walls and shaped like a cave.   I was given some smaller than I would like Thai pants and top and told to hang my clothes and stow my belongings.   I then lay down face down and then up for a Thai massage.   I must say that as she squeezed my calf with the might of a hydraulic vice, I was waiting for her to scream that I was bleeding.   The skin held for the entire day.

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The body was followed by a foot massage which had oils and lotion, and she used the little round stick on my toes etc..   I think that took about an hour.  Then off to the shower and a pair of those tiny mesh underpants.  They actually felt comfy after the tight Thai top that I wore for the massage.  Well, as comfy as a thong would be on someone is not a thonger.    She gave me a sarong and bathrobe, and we walked down the hall to the steam room.    I was given a washcloth and a cup of water and sent into the steam for 30 minutes.   It was hot, and the steam jet went form a little spirt to a big blow for the entire time.   I had to keep turning around, so I did not get all the steam on the left side.    I wiped my forehead and watched all the stuff come out of my pores.   I was covered with the dirty extra skin by the time the ½ was over.

I thought I would be back in the shower since I felt dirty but no, it was time for a body scrub. I don’t know how much was still in the pores, but massage person had a great deal to work with what was on the surface.     She used some type of salt or rice and worked sponges all over my body.. .backside, front side, arms, legs, etc..  At one point as she scrubbed my breast, I was reminded of the woman very close to where I was laying who asked me how many babies I had with those breasts.  I have lost a lot of weight, but this woman at the high-end spa, would not say anything for five hours.  After three hours I decided that I was not going to bleed to death from my morning gusher and relaxed more.

After about another hour, it was back to the shower.  I washed my hair and body, and it took some doing to get the grit and salt off.  (This bath has bubbles and she has on clothes.  Mine had rose petals and pieces of banana leaf and I was without clothes)

When I opened the door, she had a hot milk bathtub with roses waiting.  I got in, and she said ½ hr and left.   I had to do some moving around so that I was supporting my short body with my feet on one side of the tub and then had to roll to one side and the other to get all of me into the water without slipping under the rose petals.  There was a window that was the full length of the cave wall that looked out on a bamboo fence and plants.   Very nice.  I was almost the longest bath of my life since baths are not my thing.  I had a long bath at the Pittsford Spa,  but after about 5 minutes the tub emptied automatically, and the person had to come back, and we started over.  Not such a pleasant experience.

So out of the rose petals and back on the table for an oil massage.  This took a long time with several layers of oil on and rubbed off and back on etc.   She kept covering me with a heavy blanket moving the material to the place she was not working on.   I might add that during this entire process various music was playing.  And I would roll to one side then the other and then top and then the bottom.

I thought I was cooked when she finished, but she got out hot compresses and started going over every inch of my body with the hot compress.   Usually, my eyes were covered when I was on my back.  She did not want to see my eyes looking at her, and I was just as happy not to see someone doing all this to the body.

I knew she was finished when I was covered with a heavy blanket. She then started on the facial.  More cleansing, more oil, more lotion.   If I were to say anything slightly negative, the facial was ok, but not a deep clean nor pore extractions.   When that was finished, I sat up, and she did a short back and head massage.   At the very end, she held some glass triangle looking thing over my head and hit it was a padded stick.   I think this is the crystal charging for the brain, but at this point, I was a noodle, and it was 4pm and time to try to figure out how to put on my clothes.  

This petite person worked on me pretty steady for 4 of the 5 hours.   I was exhausted and knew that I had best be careful getting myself to laundry and home.

This was a great treat and something I will do every year at the end of the trip.   I thought about many things that I did not do because I wondered if I was worth the money that it would cost.   Well at this point… I am.  I have made a promise to myself to do what come to me, so I have no regrets that I did not take opportunities.